Optimizing Digital Tools for the Field of Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders: Backcasting Exercise.

Journal: JMIR human factors

Volume: 10

Issue: 

Year of Publication: 2023

Affiliated Institutions:  School of Health Sciences, South East Technological University, Waterford, Ireland. Health and Addictions Research Group, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Institute of Mental Health, Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, India. School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. Institute for Social Drug Research, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. International Grace Rehab, Lahore School of Behavioral Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan. Correlation European Harm Reduction Network, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States. European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Vienna, Austria. The National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs, Randwick, Australia. Eurasian Harm Reduction Association, Vilnius, Lithuania. Humanitarian Action Charitable Fund, St Petersburg, Russian Federation. Management Center Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. Network of Early Career Professionals in Addiction Medicine, Seligenstadt, Germany. Kethea Ithaki, Thessaloniki, Greece. Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health Osijek, Bjelovar University of Applied Sciences, Bjelovar, Croatia. Youth Organisations for Drug Action, Warsaw, Poland. Head of the Department of Social Sciences in Health, Directorate of Epidemiological and Psychosocial Research, Mexico City, Mexico. DigitAS Project, Population and Behavioural Science, School of Medicine, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom. Alcohol and Substance Use Expert Group, Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-Being, Tallinn, Estonia.

Abstract summary 

Substance use trends are complex; they often rapidly evolve and necessitate an intersectional approach in research, service, and policy making. Current and emerging digital tools related to substance use are promising but also create a range of challenges and opportunities.This paper reports on a backcasting exercise aimed at the development of a roadmap that identifies values, challenges, facilitators, and milestones to achieve optimal use of digital tools in the substance use field by 2030.A backcasting exercise method was adopted, wherein the core elements are identifying key values, challenges, facilitators, milestones, cornerstones and a current, desired, and future scenario. A structured approach was used by means of (1) an Open Science Framework page as a web-based collaborative working space and (2) key stakeholders' collaborative engagement during the 2022 Lisbon Addiction Conference.The identified key values were digital rights, evidence-based tools, user-friendliness, accessibility and availability, and person-centeredness. The key challenges identified were ethical funding, regulations, commercialization, best practice models, digital literacy, and access or reach. The key facilitators identified were scientific research, interoperable infrastructure and a culture of innovation, expertise, ethical funding, user-friendly designs, and digital rights and regulations. A range of milestones were identified. The overarching identified cornerstones consisted of creating ethical frameworks, increasing access to digital tools, and continuous trend analysis.The use of digital tools in the field of substance use is linked to a range of risks and opportunities that need to be managed. The current trajectories of the use of such tools are heavily influenced by large multinational for-profit companies with relatively little involvement of key stakeholders such as people who use drugs, service providers, and researchers. The current funding models are problematic and lack the necessary flexibility associated with best practice business approaches such as lean and agile principles to design and execute customer discovery methods. Accessibility and availability, digital rights, user-friendly design, and person-focused approaches should be at the forefront in the further development of digital tools. Global legislative and technical infrastructures by means of a global action plan and strategy are necessary and should include ethical frameworks, accessibility of digital tools for substance use, and continuous trend analysis as cornerstones.

Authors & Co-authors:  Scheibein Florian F Caballeria Elsa E Taher Md Abu MA Arya Sidharth S Bancroft Angus A Dannatt Lisa L De Kock Charlotte C Chaudhary Nazish Idrees NI Gayo Roberto Perez RP Ghosh Abhishek A Gelberg Lillian L Goos Cees C Gordon Rebecca R Gual Antoni A Hill Penelope P Jeziorska Iga I Kurcevič Eliza E Lakhov Aleksey A Maharjan Ishwor I Matrai Silvia S Morgan Nirvana N Paraskevopoulos Ilias I Puharić Zrinka Z Sibeko Goodman G Stola Jan J Tiburcio Marcela M Tay Wee Teck Joseph J Tsereteli Zaza Z López-Pelayo Hugo H

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations :  Berners-Lee T. 30 years on, what's next #ForTheWeb? World Wide Web Foundation. 2019. [2023-10-01]. https://webfoundation.org/2019/03/web-birthday-30/
Authors :  29
Identifiers
Doi : e46678
SSN : 2292-9495
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Humans
Other Terms
addictions;backcasting exercise;digital health;digital tools;drug addiction;eHealth;ethical frameworks;substance use;substance use disorders;telemedicine
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
Publication Country
Canada